Dem officials attend ArabCon, where October 7th is applauded
Prominent Democrat officials are facing criticism for attending ArabCon, an Islamic convention where terror is openly celebrated.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), Michigan Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist, and Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed were all featured speakers at ArabCon, held September 25–28 in Dearborn, Michigan—often described as America’s “Muslim capital” for its overwhelmingly Muslim population. Dearborn’s leadership, including its mayor and police chief, is openly Islamist. Dearborn Mayor Abdullah H. Hammoud went viral earlier this month for accusing a Christian resident of “Islamophobia” and telling him he is “not welcome” in the city.
Both city officials and local religious leaders have repeatedly aligned themselves with Hamas against the United States and Israel.
‘I never ever condemn Palestinian resistance’
Khanna began his speech at ArabCon by mocking critics who claim the convention supports Islamic terror. “So where are the pro-terror radicals? Raise your hand if you're a pro-terror radical,” he said, drawing snickers from attendees.
But the next few days proved critics right as the convention took on a decidedly pro-terror theme. In one panel, University of Detroit Mercy School of Law Adjunct Professor Amer Zahr mocked the idea that Muslims would be “uncomfortable” talking about October 7th, when Palestinians massacred 1,200 Israeli men, women, and children, committing mass rape throughout. Zahr then snidely asked his fellow panelist, San Francisco State University’s Dr. Rabab Abdulhadi, “Do you condemn October 7th?” which drew laughter from the audience and other panelists.
Abdulhadi responded that she did not: “I condemn Israel and the United States and all oppression and imperial war around the world. I never ever condemn Palestinian resistance and any resistance around the world.”
“That’s what I’m talking about,” Zahr responded as the audience cheered. The Washington Free Beacon notes that Zahr said in 2017, "We stand with everybody who stands against the Israeli occupation—whether it's called Hamas, whether it's called Hezbollah."
Abdulhadi is a known associate of the terror organization Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
Other pro-terror radicals
Other speakers at ArabCon included Medea Benjamin, who co-founded the radical Left pro-Palestinian organization Code Pink, which has ties to the Chinese Communist Party. Zahra Billoo, an official with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) who openly supports Hamas targeting Israeli civilians, also spoke. Lara Sheehi, a former George Washington University professor who called Hamas terrorists "martyrs" and praised them as "armed resistance" against Israel, was also included in the lineup.
Speakers also included Mahmoud Khalil, a leader of Columbia University Apartheid Divest, an organization that has openly backed Hamas’ terror activities and celebrated the October 7th attack. Khalil is a Syrian-Algerian who has declared himself a Palestinian and said in August that “we couldn’t avoid October 7th.”
